Daring The Third Wave

A third wave of the Covid pandemic looms large on India with speculation going rife that the onslaught is expected in a month or two. With its 66 per cent eligible population being vaccinated, the authorities seem more confident this time to fight the pandemic, but fears run high among people about yet another round of lockdown and disruption of social and financial life. Fast recovery in economic parameters and a booming equity market seem to be soothing the frayed nerves of the investors and also allaying fears of a fresh financial bloodbath. “Even if the third wave hits India in the next couple of months, we don’t see a correction of over 5-6 per cent in the markets as the economy is doing well,” says Shrikant Chouhan, executive vice-president, equity research, Kotak Securities Ltd. Another positive is that India has started giving more than 40 lakh vaccination...